"These are gladiators!": Josef Newgarden's ultimate NASCAR dream makes Corey LaJoie go from 'liking' to 'loving' him

Josef Newgarden mentioned that he would love to drive a NASCAR Cup Series car around the Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee during the night. Corey LaJoie, who was sat next to him, enjoyed the Penske driver's answer and even claimed he has gone from 'liking' Newgarden to 'loving' him now.

Josef Newgarden appeared on Corey Lajoie's Stacking Pennies podcast earlier this week as the two motorsports veterans discussed their mutual admiration for each other and also their respective series, IndyCar and NASCAR.

While speaking on the podcast, Newgarden shared his love for NASCAR, and mentioned his dream is to drive a cup car around the Bristol Motor Speedway in his home state, Tennessee. The 34-year-old also shared how he used to go to the track as a young kid and felt that the drivers were 'gladiators'.

"If I could choose, I would drive a cup car at Bristol, at night, on pavement," said Newgarden.

The IndyCar had to say only this much, and LaJoie instantly replied:

"Hell yeah. I liked you Josef but I love you now, that's a damn good answer."

Newgarden then continued, saying:

"So I'm from Tennessee, I'm a Nashville guy, and some of the few races that I actually went to as a kid in person were Briston. So I saw National Super Speedway, I saw some races [there] and Bristol, were the [two] places that I saw NASCAR races. And I'm like, 'this is awesome.' Like if I'm in the stadium at Bristol, I'm like, 'these are gladiators.'"

Josef Newgraden has never raced in stock cars in his career. However, he started his motorsports career, in Karting and in junior Formulae, including Formula Ford and GP3. He then moved back over to America to join Indy Lights, which he won as a rookie in 2011, earning a move to the IndyCar series. He has been in the series ever since and even claimed two championships in 2017 and 2019 with Team Penske.

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Josef Newgarden to speak at the reopening of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum

Josef Newgarden at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after his second Indy 500 win in 2024 - Source: Getty

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced that as part of the reopening of the famous IMS Museum, two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden will be engaging in a conversation with IndyCar and IMS President Doug Boles. The American driver has claimed victory in both of the last two editions of the iconic event.

The IMS is all set to reopen their museum in April, and one of the events fans can take part in is this conversation between Newgarden and Boles. The museum's president, Joe Hale claimed that the 34-year-old is the perfect person to speak at the event.

"Josef is the perfect choice to kick off our public events in the reimagined Museum. The Museum has always prided itself on providing exclusive events for our members and guests, and our ‘An Evening With’ speaker series is a fan-favorite that allows them to get to know the drivers on a deeper level." [via WTHR]

Josef Newgarden will be hoping to claim his third straight win at the Indy 500, which is scheduled in May, only a month after his event at the museum opening. The 109th running of the legendary event is scheduled to be held on May 25.